Coin or the like counting and wrapping machine



Dec. 27, 1955 J. N. FRANCIS com OR THE LIKE COUNTING AND WRAPPINGMACHINE Filed Sept. 9. 1952 S Sheets-Sheet l Dec. 27, 1955 J. N. FRANCIS2,723,507

COIN OR THE LIKE COUNTING AND WRAPPING MACHINE Filed Sept. 9, 1952 I5Sheets-Sheet 2 MHIIIIIIIIIIHM Dec. 27, 1955 J. N. FRANCIS COIN OR THELIKE COUNTING AND WRAPPING MACHINE Filed Sept. 9, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 3United States Patent Oifice 2,728,507 Patented Dec. 27, 1955 COIN OR THELIKE COUNTING AND WRAPPING MACHINE Joseph N. Francis, Woburn, Mass,assignor to Standard Coin Wrappers, Incorporated, Boston, Mass., acorporation of Massachusetts Application September 9, 1952, Serial No.308,609

Claims. (Cl. 226-14) This invention relates to counting machines forcoins, tokens, and the like, and has for one object to automaticallywrap a predetermined number of such articles of a selected denominationor value.

A further object is to provide means by which the counting mechanism isset into operation by the presence of an empty wrapper in wrappingposition. The counting mechanism then counts and deposits apredetermined number of coins or other articles in the wrapper.

Still another object is to provide a machine wherein after thepredetermined number of articles have been deposited in the wrapper, thewrapper will be auto matically closed.

A further object is to provide a machine which will stop automaticallyafter the wrapper has been closed, and provided that no empty wrapper isin position to receive the next counted wrapper load.

Further objects and advantages will appear from a description of anembodiment of the invention shown in the accompanying drawings in whichFigure 1 is a side elevation of the machine.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary top plan view of the same.

Figure 3 is a front elevation of the same.

Figures 4 and 5 are sectional views on lines 4-4 and 5-5, respectively,of Figure 3.

Figure 6 is a sectional view on line 6-6 of Figure 5.

Figure 7 is a detail sectional view on line 77 of Figure 6.

Figures 8, 9 and 10 are detailed sectional views on the correspondinglynumbered section lines of Figure 5.

Figures 11 and 12 are views similar to a portion of Figure 10 butshowing the parts in successively assumed positions.

Figure 13 is a wiring diagram of certain of the control mechanism.

Referring first to Figure 1, at 1 is indicateda'stand adapted to besupported on a table 2. This stand 1 is provided with a horizontalturntable 3 carried at the upper end of a rotary shaft 4 having a spiralgear 5 at its lower end. Meshing with this spiral gear 5 is a spiralgear 6 on a horizontal shaft 7 which carries a pulley 8 connectedthrough a belt 9 with the drive pulley 10 of a motor 11.

This rotary table 3 forms the base of a cylindrical receptacle 12 intowhich coins, or tokens, or the like, are supplied from a hopper 15. Bythe rotation of the table 3 the coins are caused to pass outwardly bycentrifugal force through a passage 20 (see Figure 2) along which theyare projected by the rotation of a drive wheel 21 provided with a rubbertread 22. By rotation of this wheel 21 the coins or tokens are pushedpast a serrated counting wheel 23, causing this wheel 23 to be rotatedthrough a predetermined angular extent by each coin o token which ispassed thereby. I

This counting wheel 23 is provided with a pinion 24 which meshes withperipheral teeth 25 of a counting disk 26. This disk 26 is carried by ashaft 27 and is held up into meshing relation with the pinion 24 by agear 28.

The gear 28 is adjustably positioned in a slot 29 in an arm 30 which ispivoted for up and down swinging motion on a pivot 30a (see Figure 2).

The disk'26 is provided with one or more depressions 31 therein, whichin one or more angular positions of the disk, come under an abutment 32carried by the arm 30 and in this position the arm 30 may drop from aposition elevated by reason of the member 32 riding on the disk 26, intoa lowered position. The size of the disk 26 is so chosen that it makesone or a desired fraction of a revolution by the passage of coins pastthe counting wheel 23 during the time that it takes to count apredetermined number of coins or tokens which it is desired to packagein a single wrapper, and disks of various sizes and with depressions 31variously arranged may be employed in accordance with the number ofcoins of any particular denomination which it is desired to package inone wrapper. The arm 30 is normally pressed downwardly as far as ispermitted by the member 32 riding on the top face of the disk 26, as bya spring 310. It normally rests upon the upper end of a rod 33 (seeFigure 3) pivoted to one end of a lever 330, the opposite end of whichis pivoted to a link 34. This link 34 is pivoted at its lower end to alever 35 (Figure 9) which carries a follower roll 36 riding on theperiphery of a cam 37. This cam 37 is fixed to a horizontal shaft 38 andhas a lobe 39 thereon, which, in one angular position, engages thefollower 36, lifting the lever 35 and raising the bar 30 so that theabutment 32 is lifted out of the depression 31 when it is desired torestart the feeding; and counting of coins.

This shaft 38 is driven through a clutch of the Horton type from a gear40 journaled on the shaft and provided with a stop pin 42 with whichcooperates a pin 43 carried by a lever 44. The gear 40 is arranged to berotated at a slow rate of speed by means of a worm 50 carried by avertical shaft 51 (see Figures 1 and 9). The upper end of the shaft 51is provided with a bevel gear 52 which meshes with a similar gear 53 ona horizontai shaft 54, and a pulley 55 carried by this shaft isconnected by a belt 56 to a pulley 57 carried by the shaft 7. Thus thegear 40 is driven continuously from the motor 11 and whenever the Hortonclutch is tripped by depressing the left hand end of the lever 44, theshaft 38 is rotated for asingle revolution. The lever 44 is normallyheld in stopped position as by a spring 60 as shown in Figure 9.

The start of rotation of the shaft 38 acts to lift the lever 35 and rockthe arm 30 so as to free the counting disk 26 for rotation. At the sametime the feed wheel 21 is allowed to begin its rotation, the lifting ofthe arm 30 acting through a link 65, lever 65, and a link 67 (see Figure3) releases the stop pin 63 of a Horton clutch 69 in the drive for thewheel 21, which is produced through rotation of a shaft 70 (seeFigure 1) through a belt drive 71 from a pulley 72 carried by the shaft7.

From the counterwheel 23, the coins are caused to pass into a chute tothe packaging mechanism which constitutes the novel portion of thismachine. The table 2 which supports the shaft 38 and the parts carriedthereby also supports a table on which is pivoted to rotate about avertical axis, a turret 101 (see Figure 8). turret is provided with anannular recess 102 in its lower face concentric with the turret pivot,and the turret is provided, as shown, with four open topped receptacles112, which may be brought in succession into each of four stations whereoperations, as will later appear, are carried out. 1

The turret 101, as shown in Figure 8, is fixed to a vertical shaft tothe lower end of which is pinned a ratchet wheel 116. Above the ratchetwheel 116 there This is journaled on the shaft 115 an arm 117 carrying apivoted dog 118 which may engage the teeth of the ratchet wheel 116 andturn this ratchet wheel when the arm 117 is turned in one direction, thedog slipping past the ratchet teeth as the arm 117 is turned in theopposite direction.

Fixed to or integral with the arm 117 is a pinion 120 with which meshesthe teeth of a rack member 121. This rack member 121 is guided forlongitudinal motion and is provided at its rear end with a cam followerroll 122, which rides in a cam groove 123 in a cam disk 124 keyed to theshaft 38. This cam groove 123 is eccentric to the shaft 38, as bestshown in Figure 8, so that by rotation of the shaft 38, the rack bar 121is moved alternately axially in opposite directions. As it is moved fromthe position shown in Figure 8 to its opposite position, so that therack bar is pulled to the right as shown in Figure 8, the dog 118engages the ratchet teeth of the wheel 116 and turns the shaft 115 onthe turret 191 through one-quarter of a revolution, while during themotion of the rack bar to the position shown in Figure 8, the turretremains stationary, and during this time certain operations areperformed as will later appear. A spring pressed latch 125 engaging in acorresponding notch 126 in the edge of the turret 101 tends to retainthe turret in any indexed station.

As before noted, there are four stations for the turret. At station Ashown in Figures 4, 6 and 7, the operator may place in a liner 13! inthe corresponding receptacle 112 a tubular wrapper 131, the lower end ofwhich has been partly closed off as by being curled inwardly as shown at132 in Figure 6. Various liners 130 may be employed, depending upon thesizes of the coins or tokens to be packaged, and each is provided with acentral opening of the proper size to receive the wrapper. As thiswrapper is pushed into the liner, it depresses a spring pressed plug 135mounted in the table 100 and closes a microswitch 136 (Figures 6 and 7).

As shown best in Figure 13, there is provided a second microswitch at137 which is closed when the arm 30 is in its depressed position andwhen both are closed a circuit is established from a source of power 138through the microswitches 136 and 137 and energizes a solenoid 140. Theenergization of the solenoid 140 lifts its armature 141 (see Figure 9)and rocks the lever 44 in position to withdraw the stop pin 43 from theHorton clutch pin 42. This first starts the rotation of the cam 124 andeffects an indexing motion of the turret, moving the receptacle intowhich the empty wrapper was placed from the starting station A to thefilling station B. As it reaches the filling station, a cam lobe 145 ona cam 146 carried by the shaft 38 (see Figure 9) depresses the righthand end portion of a lever 150 fulcrumed at 151 and lifts its endportion 152, causing a plunger 153 slidably guided vertically through abearing 154 to be lifted. The base of this plunger 153 engages the lowerend of the unfilled wrapper and pushes the wrapper up into the flaringlower end of the chute 80 in position to receive the coins dischargedfrom the counting machine without possibility of their failing to enterthe wrapper.

At about this time, also, the arm 30 is lifted and the Horton clutch forthe feeding wheel 21 is released, so that the counting mechanism beginsto operate and feeds the coins into the wrapper. This action continuesuntil the desired number of coins have been fed into the wrapper,whereupon the arm 30 is allowed to drop, the abutment 32 then being overthe counter wheel depression 31, whereupon the counting and feeding ofthe coins stops.

At the same time that one of the wrappers is being filled with coins, afilled wrapper previously in the loading position has been moved over tothe crimping station C. At this station, as shown in Figure 10, therotation of the shaft 38 has caused a cam 160 to depress the adjacentend of a lever 161 fulcrumed at 162, against the action of a spring 163.The rocking of this lever lifts a plunger 165 at station C and causesits roughened upper face 166 to engage and lift the filled wrapper intocontact with a rotary crimping tool 170. This crimping tool 170 iscontinuously rotated, being driven from the shaft 57 by suitable beltconnections at 172. The lower end of this crimping tool, as shown bestin Figures 10, ll and 12, is formed with an annular crimping recesswhich takes over the upper end of the wrapper and curls it inwardly inthe manner shown in Figures 11 and 12, the wrapper being fed up againstthe tool as it is rotated to effect the crimping.

At the same time that the crimping of a filled wrapper is beingaccomplished, the wrapper which was previously filled and crimped andwas moved from the station C to the station D in Figures 4 and 6, ismoved into registry with an open tubular portion 171 to the table 100from which it is directed as by a chute 173 to a trough 174. Thewrappers reaching the trough 174 have thus each been filled with thedesired number of coins, tokens, or the like, and sealed by the crimpingmechanism.

The provision of the microswitch 137 insures that the full number ofcoins has been fed into the wrapper before the turret is indexed, eventhough the micro switch 136 may have been closed earlier by theplacement of an empty wrapper in position at the loading station A.

In operation it is only necessary for the operator to supply emptywrappers at station A, whereupon after each supply the turret isautomatically indexed to present the empty wrapper at station B wherethe wrapper is filled, the previously filled wrapper is moved from thestation B to the station C where the wrapper is crimped to seal thecoins therein, and the previously sealed wrapper with its supply ofcoins is moved to station D and discharged from the machine.

I claim:

1. In combination with a coin counting and delivering machine, aplurality of coin wrapper receiving receptacles, means for presentingsaid receptacles successively into position to register with thedelivery from said machine, means initiated by the placing of an emptycoin wrapper in one of said receptacles to start the operation of saidmachine to deliver into said wrapper a predetermined number of coins,and means acting after such delivery to close said wrapper.

2. In combination with a coin counting and delivering machine, aplurality of coin wrapper receiving receptacles, means for presentingsaid receptacles successively into position to register with thedelivery from said machine, means initiated by the placing of an emptycoin wrapper in one of said receptacles to start the operation of saidmachine to deliver into said wrapper a predetermined number of coins,and means acting after such delivery to close said wrapper, and todischarge such closed wrapper and contents from said receptacle.

3. In combination with a coin counting and delivering machine, aturntable, a plurality of coin wrapper receiving receptacles carried bysaid turntable and adapted by indexing motion of said table to registersaid receptacles in succession into cooperative relation to the deliveryfrom said machine, means for so indexing said table, means initiated bythe placing of an empty coin wrapper in one of said receptacles to startthe operation of said machine to deliver into said coin wrapper apredetermined number of coins, and means acting after such delivery toclose said wrapper.

4. In combination, a receptacle holder, mechanism for supplying apredetermined number of articles into a receptacle in said holder,mechanism for closing the receptacle so supplied, and means initiated bythe placing of a receptacle in said said holder for actuating saidmechanisms.

5. In combination, a cylindrical holder adapted to hold a tubularwrapper, mechanism for supplying a predetermined number of coins into awrapper in said References Cited in the file of this patent holder,mecha ism for closing staid wrapper after re- UNITED STATES PATENTSceivmg said earns, a motor for driving said mechanisms in timedrelation, and a switch for closing a circuit to 1047304 Samey 1912 saidmotor in position to be actuated by the placing of 5 {535 :23 5 ss g t td t a 7 a wrapper 1n Said holder to s a sai mo or 1,925,522 Chiger Sept5, 1933 2,060,645 Suppiger et a1. Nov. 10, 1936 2,308,188 Madden Ian.12, 1943

